Is an etude a variation? Is a variation an etude? There are few more useful compositional exercises than composing various variations on a given theme; and, since Chopin, etudes can ultimately be regarded as different variations on the same theme – the demonstration of piano technique. The three concerts in the 2026–2027 season of the Gábor Csalog Sundays series will explore and showcase the connections and differences between these two genres. Alongside Beethoven’s monumental Diabelli Variations, the concerts will feature variations by composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Schubert and Anton Webern, whilst the etudes will be represented not only by Debussy and Rachmaninoff but also by Gábor Csalog, who is active as a composer as well and will present a selection from his latest pieces. In keeping with the tradition of recent years, during the first half of these two-part evenings, the pianist-composer will be in conversation with music historian Gergely Fazekas about the works to be performed in concert form in the second half. The language of these conversations is Hungarian.

Although Joseph Haydn’s set of variations in F minor was known in its day as a ‘piccolo divertimento’, the label is misleading, as the work is neither short nor light-hearted in nature. It is one of Haydn’s most poignant and personal pieces of music, linked by some analysts to the death of the composer’s platonic love, Maria Anna von Genzinger. The theme on which the variations are based could well have been written by Schubert, who was himself a master of the variation genre; thus, alongside Haydn’s piece, the concert programme will also feature a set of Schubert variations, written with dazzling imagination on the melancholic theme of the lesser-known early 19th-century composer, Anselm Hüttenbrenner. In the second half of the concert, Gábor Csalog will perform a selection from Claude Debussy’s etudes. These pieces, written during the First World War, are characteristic examples of Debussy’s late style: there is no longer any sign of Impressionism here; these compositions, with their stunningly clear structure and visionary power – whilst placing extraordinary technical demands on the pianist – rather represent a form of abstract expressionism. In the first half of the concert, music historian Gergely Fazekas will be in conversation with Gábor Csalog about the works to be performed.

Further concerts in the series:
29 November 2026: Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Etudes and Variations 3/1.
7 February 2027: Gábor Csalog Sundays – Dialogues with (the) Music | Etudes and Variations 3/2.